Even as a kid, I was always drawing, carving or painting. I majored in Fine Arts at St. John’s University with the intention of finding a way to use my art in advertising. Well, I got into advertising but soon migrated to the business side. Still, I never lost my fascination with art. So, after four decades, in 2005 I started taking oil painting classes again at the Edina Art Center. I paint anything and everything. My only criterion is that I have some personal connection to the subject. If you had a dog that deserved a portrait, I’d make it an art class project. Almost by accident, I painted a blue jay in November 2006, and that started the Christmas card bird tradition. (It’s got to be a bird that winters in Minnesota.) My two children are good photographers who supply me not only with ideas but also with grandchildren who deserve portraits.
I’m strictly a representational artist—a realist who wishes he could be more of an impressionist.